Title: Scheduling and routing of city buses for a public transport company

Authors: Mehmet Savsar; Jafar Alnaqi; Mawada Atash

Addresses: Department of Industrial & Management Systems Engineering, College of Engineering & Petroleum, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait ' Department of Industrial & Management Systems Engineering, College of Engineering & Petroleum, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait ' Department of Industrial & Management Systems Engineering, College of Engineering & Petroleum, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait

Abstract: This paper presents a model and related analysis for scheduling and routing of public buses in the state of Kuwait. Firstly, current bus scheduling system is analysed to identify related problems and potential areas for improvements and to investigate appropriate solution approaches. Necessary data are collected and estimated depending on data availability. Modelling and analysis, including a mathematical programming model and heuristic procedures, are developed using collected data. Based on the analysis and cost measures, best routes are selected. The results show significant improvements and cost savings for the public transport system.

Keywords: city buses; public buses; Kuwait; bus routing; bus scheduling; public transport systems; heuristic procedures; mathematical programming; operations research; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2013.052334

International Journal of Operational Research, 2013 Vol.16 No.3, pp.304 - 328

Published online: 29 Jul 2014 *

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